CPB Announces ARPA Fund Distribution Plan for Public Broadcasting

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has announced the approval of a distribution plan for $175 million in emergency stabilization funds for public media assigned from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

The distribution plan includes a “simple, equitable and impactful funding formula” to allocate ARPA funds among television and radio grantees. $100 million will be distributed using the formula utilized for the April 2020 stabilization funds, prioritizing small, rural and minority stations. The remaining $75 million will be distributed using the Community Service Grant (CSG) formula.

The ARPA, signed into law on March 11, 2021, provided funds to help public broadcasting stations maintain their programming and services. In particular, the provisions aimed to preserve small and rural stations as they faced declining non-federal revenues.

Visit the CPB website press room page for the full press release. A list of television and radio stations can be found here along with the FAQs, which detail the requirements of the funds, including expenditure restrictions and discrete accounting. Your public broadcasting CPA team can also help with any questions.

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